Realme confirms that Realme X50 Pro 5G chipset already supports NavIC, but software update from qualcomm required

Update: There was some confusion about exactly how NavIC is supported on the Qualcomm Snapdragon 865. Realme has confirmed that while the 865 hardware supports the feature, it will only be activated in April following a software update from Qualcomm. Realme’s full statement is as follows: “Realme X50 Pro supports NavIC and will be the first phone in India to come equipped with the NavIC support. The hardware itself supports the technology now and can be used. The smartphone will just require a Qualcomm’s software update so that it can be displayed on some applications. Also, our upcoming smartphones will support NavIC.” It was just a couple of days ago that Xiaomi India Head, Manu Jain announced that their next Redmi phone will support ISRO’s India’s satellite navigation system, almost immediately, arch rival company Realme announced that their smartphone already supports NavIC. As per a tweet by Realme India head Madhav Sheth, Realme’s latest smartphone **Realme X50 Pro 5G (First impressions)** already supports NavIC technology and their upcoming phones will support that as well. He further revealed that they are launching another smartphone on 5 March that will also have this feature. It’s just a little bit silly that companies are fighting over ownership of the title of “first phone with NavIC”, especially because the new generation of smartphone chipsets all support NavIC by default and it’s just a matter of time before the market is flooded with NavIC supporting phones.   [caption id=“attachment_8085211” align=“alignnone” width=“1024”] Realme X50 Pro 5G’s red colour variant. Image: tech2/Nandini Yadav[/caption]

Yes, our ultimate flagship, #realmeX50Pro features #NavIC & even our upcoming phone will feature it as well.
So World's first, World's second, coming in a row, all for India.
Plan to talk more on 5th March. See you there with 1500 #realme fans. https://t.co/SXwcu1vYyI

— Madhav Sheth (@MadhavSheth1) February 27, 2020

Why NavIC is a big deal?

NavIC — Navigation with Indian Constellation — is the regional geo-positioning system designed in India by ISRO to provide accurate positioning in India and around the Indian mainland. It is considered to be at par with US-based GPS, Russia’s Glonass, and Galileo developed by Europe.

Glorious new chapter for tech in #India! 🇮🇳

Proud to announce that upcoming #Redmi phone will be 1st in world to feature @isro's #NavIC - Nation's own satellite navigation system! 🛰️

Great meeting Dr. K Sivan (Chairman #ISRO) & team to finalize this!#Xiaomi ❤️ #NavICinXiaomi pic.twitter.com/GcE1EEocmL

— Manu Kumar Jain (@manukumarjain) February 25, 2020

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Realme X50 Pro 5G specifications and features

Realme X50 Pro 5G features a super AMOLED display with a 90-Hz refresh rate and a pill-shaped hole-punch. The smartphone is powered by Qualcomm Snapdragon 865 SoC. The chipset’s onboard Snapdragon X55 LTE modem will ensure that the phone offers dual-mode (NSA+SA) 5G connectivity. For photography, the Realme X50 Pro 5G comes with a quad-camera setup with a 12 MP tele camera, 64 MP primary camera, 8 MP ultra-wide-angle camera, and a B&W portrait camera. It can shoot ultra-wide, 4K videos, slo-mo, and ultra-wide-angle selfie videos. The phone offers a real-time selfie bokeh effect in videos. The selfie cam can also allow slo-mo selfie videos. The Realme X50 has a 32 MP wide-angle and an 8 MP ultra-wide-angle camera on the front, along with a Nightscape 3.0 with an ultra nightscape mode for low light shooting. The Realme X50 Pro 5G is fuelled by 4,200 mAh battery, which comes with support for 65 W SuperDart fast charging technology. The Realme X50 Pro 5G comes in a 12 GB RAM variant, which is priced at Rs 44,999; an 8GB variant priced at 39,999 and a 6 GB variant that will cost 37,999. The smartphone will sell exclusively on Flipkart.